What is Counterparty?

The Counterparty (Symbol: XCP) is a crypto coin used as a voting currency for changes to be decided on by the community. It does not only enable users to create and trade any kind of virtual coin, but it also allows users to write specific digital contracts or Smart Contracts, and run them on the Bitcoin blockchain. When there is difficulty using BTC, XCP will be used to provide functionality. XCP is the representation of stake in the Counterparty protocol. By burning bitcoins, XCP was created. The process of "burning bitcoin" includes sending tokens to an unspendable address in exchange for XCP, guaranteeing an even and fair allocation of the currency. 2.6 million XCP were created in January 2014 with over 2,100 bitcoins were burned. XCP can be bought through several exchanges.